How To Make Homemade Kombucha

Have you ever wondered how to make homemade kombucha? Save your money and brew your own with this easy tutorial teaching you how PLUS two recipes for flavor variations. Your budget and digestive system will thank you.

There are two reasons why I love kombucha: a) it has awesome health benefits (we’ll get to that) and b) it feels like my very own version of the sisterhood of the travelling pants…minus the pants…plus the SCOBY.

If you’ve ever made homemade kombucha before you know that part of the brewing process requires that you use a SCOBY or Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeasts. The purpose of the SCOBY is to eat the sugar and caffeine in the tea and metabolize it to produce all sorts of health benefits like probiotics, vitamins and amino acids. It’s health properties are particularly impressive considering it looks like a plastic mushroom or IMO a deflated silicone boob. Yes, I just said that.

While it is possible to grow you’re own SCOBY, it’s usually just easier to get one from a friend who is currently brewing Kombucha. They get separate a layer or cut off a piece and pass it onto you so you can get on your merry kombucha brewing way. See how it’s kind of like the sisterhood of the travelling pants? We’re all connected through one Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeasts…

At this point I need to thank my fellow SCOBY sister Katie for awesomely passing on a baby SCOBY to me so I could start my own batch. I am prepared to spread forth the kombucha love so if you’re interested in starting your own homemade kombucha after reading the tutorial below, comment or email me and I’m happy to give you a piece of mine!

And while you’re at it, please take some kombucha off my hands because as you’ll soon discover in your own brewing process, once you start making kombucha you can’t stop. I know have 16 bottles in the fridge with another batch going. Let’s just say my gut health is on point.

Back to kombucha.

I’m guessing a descent portion of you got lost somewhere along SCOBY and would like a simple definition of what kombucha is and why you need to start drinking it. So here you go:

Kombucha is a fermented tea that is packed full of probiotics, amino acids and various vitamins that help keep your digestive system in sync and balanced with a good amount of healthy bacteria. The taste is a little bit sweet (depending upon how long its left to ferment and if flavours are added) with a fizzy bite. It is always made with caffeinated green, black or oolong tea (sometimes herbal tea is added but never alone), sugar and a SCOBY. The sugar is required so that the SCOBY has something to eat and in turn produce all sorts of healthy byproducts.

This actually isn’t my first time brewing kombucha. I took a fermentation class a few years ago (please don’t make fun of me) and loved making kombucha, sauerkraut and kimchi. I’ve even posted a recipe for homemade kombucha before.

At some point I fell off the wagon and just started buying kombucha. But at $3-$4 a bottle, the pricetag quickly catches up with you and while your tummy may feel awesome, your budget certainly doesn’t. So I decided to get back on my game and start the brewing process up again. And this time I’m bringing you two new flavours: grapefruit and ginger aka my two favourite flavours ever. So without further ado, let’s start brewing!

Grapefruit Flavor:

Let sit in a cool, dark place for 1-2 days with lid secured and then store in the fridge until you decide to drink.

For Ginger Flavor:

Add 1 tsp of freshly grated ginger to a medium sized bottle.

Top with kombucha, leaving 1 inch of space between kombucha and lid.

Let sit in a cool, dark place for 1-2 days with lid secured and then store in the fridge until you decide to drink.

Notes

*In order to acquire a SCOBY you can ask a friend, order one here or make your own according to this tutorial.

A couple of notes about kombucha and especially homemade kombucha:

1. YOU MUST USE SUGAR. Calm yourselves people, the sugar provides nourishment to the SCOBY which needs it to survive and produce all of its awesome health benefits. Please do not try to substitute it with another sweetener or GASP…sugar-free sweetener. If done right, the SCOBY will eat most of the sugar and what you’re left with is a tangy, fizzy drink with all sorts of probiotics.

2. Keep things as clean as possible. Make sure your jar is clean and hands are clean when handling the SCOBY. You don’t want any negative bacteria getting in there.

3. My fermenting teacher (this is a thing) always told me to “just relax”. If you find yourselves worrying about your kombucha, it will not turn out. Have faith and put out good juju and you will end up with a delicious brew.

Want more healthy how-to kitchen hacks? Check out other posts from this series so far!

You Might Also Like...

44 Comments

Awesome post lady! I love kombucha but agree that it is so expensive to buy from the shop. I killed my first scoby by giving it coconut sugar as I didn’t have any normal sugar in (shocker). Needless to say, it needs real sugar! We had massive ones at my old work that filled up huge barrels. They were like jelly fish – so gross, but so good!

Loveeeee. I’ve been brewing my own Kombucha for months now and love it. My SCOBY frightens my family and boyfriend, but they’ll come around 😉 I actually went to a kombucha party where a friend of mine who had been fermenting for awhile grew a ton of SCOBY, showed us all how to do it and gave us all starters!

Love this!! I was just gifted 4 scobys and my friend and I are going to have a dinner and kombucha party tonight. I also am giving some away to other friends. I bought decaffeinated black tea at the store, do I need to just get the regular kind? And can I use coconut sugar, or should it just be regular sugar?

Suzanne

April 28, 2015 at 10:53 am

That is one photogenic looking SCOBY! I was so sad when mine (whom I’d named Sid) died 🙁 The best flavour combos I ever made was earl grey tea + raspberries and green tea + dried bloobs! TO DIE FOR. Dried fruits make the flavour soooo intense!

I actually just tried storebought kombucha this past weekend and now I am hooked! As a result, I have a feeling that I will definitely try brewing my own. When you pour in the already brewed kombucha, does it matter what kind? Can it be something that is already flavored?

Christina

April 28, 2015 at 12:32 pm

Thank you for posting this! I love Kombucha and it looks like this is an easy and affordable way to make it at home — awesome! I would LOVE a piece of your SCOBY if you have some to share in the future!
PS. I recently started reading your blog and trying your recipes and I’m LOVING them. I demolished a batch of pistachio lime energy bites — so amazing. And I make your avocado tuna salad most weeks to bring for lunch!

I’ll say this. My first experience with homemade Kampuchea was in high school. 1998. A coach gave me some (her grandma brewed it) to get rid of a wart on my hand. It worked. Never got one again, but I’d had several removed by dermatologists before that. For me, experience is the only thing that gets me over the mixed reviews. Started brewing my own in my 20s and would never support the Whole Foods price tag on something that is so easy to do at home. That said, I also do my own brazilians. Perhaps it takes just the right level of “cheap” to put our health and dignity at risk. Hah. Cheers.

Andrea

April 28, 2015 at 1:08 pm

I keep hearing about kombucha in health-related forums like this site (which I follow on facebook and love!). But every time I research this brew outside of these forums, places like Mayo clinic, for example, I only turn up info that says that while it is popular and believed to have many health benefits, there is no scientific evidence to support those beliefs, and that the colony of bacteria used to produce this elixir cannot be guaranteed to be a thriving hive of *only* healthful bacteria, and can possibly contain dangerous or unhealthy bacteria, particularly when produced in home-based kitchens with differing levels of sanitation. I will probably try a store-bought version of this juice (no home brew for me — I don’t even trust myself not to colonize harmful bacteria!). But the question I have is this: How do you deal with these dubious opinions? Do you disregard them? Discredit them? I’m not trying to be a smart-aleck, I am truly curious!

I had the same feelings as you for a long time. For me, it simply took drinking kombucha regularly. I can feel that my digestive system is working better and I feel better overall. Hopefully the research will come but for now I just go by my gut feeling, literally! 😉

Hi Davida! Believe or not, as a healthy foods person who likes all things, I haven’t enjoyed drinking any store-bought Kombucha. While this process is pretty intricate, I love that it’s possible. SCOBY? Hilarious. Guess I need to get my hands on that first! Happy Tuesday! 🙂

Hey Chloe! I place mine in a cupboard. It smells a tiny bit but nothing noticeable except for the fact that I happen to know it’s Kombucha. But that’s only in the cupboard. Definitely doesn’t smell anywhere else!

[…] pretty expensive to drink everyday so I turned to making my own with the help of fellow blogger, The Healthy Maven, who posted a tutorial on making your own kombucha from scratch. Like fermented foods, fermenting tea does take a little bit of time but the rewards are well worth […]

Hey Davida! I absolutely love kombucha and want to start brewing my own cause, uh, $4 a bottle…
I have a couple questions though. Would this be considered the continuous method of brewing? Basically, what do you do with the SCOBY after you do all the steps and want to start a new batch? Do you just repeat? Can you store the SCOBY if you have to put off making a new batch?

Hi Lovely! So fun you’re ready to start brewing your own ‘buch! So yes, brewing kombucha is pretty much a continious process. When you’re done your first batch you just keep going until you’re ready to be done, which after a few rounds you usually are because your house will be overflowing. You can definitely keep your scoby alive between brewing by storing it in a cool place (same place where you typically brew) in about a few cups of kombucha and some sugar, being sure to refill the sugar every week or so. The scoby needs sugar to survive so if you don’t feed it, it will die. Let me know how it goes!

Jessica

January 26, 2017 at 9:49 am

Hi,

I love Kombucha and I was excited to find it at our local grocery store here in Germany, but paying in euros, makes it even more expensive of course….I’m not sure if I’m able to order to SCOBY because of the strict mailing rules here, but if I am able to get one… how do you care for it? Let’s say you just finished making a batch and aren’t ready to make another….

Kelly

February 1, 2017 at 8:01 pm

Well you did it – finally convinced me to give up the price tag and brew my own. A question when flavoring…it wasn’t clear to me whether I just add ginger (Etc) to the main jar we are brewing in or pour into smaller jar?

Pat

June 1, 2017 at 6:08 am

Thanks so much for posting! I looked into making Kombucha before, but got overwhelmed with the instructions. Yours however are simple enough for me to attempt to wrap my brain around it! LoL I would love if you could message me so that I could get a piece of scoby from you! Thank you.

Tiana

July 12, 2017 at 12:58 pm

I just came across your blog!!! I used to make my own kombucha and I so I love to start again. If you are still gifting them please contact me. Nubiangoddesst@gmail.com. I will in turn spread the wealth!!

Lannie

Jennifer

June 9, 2018 at 10:19 pm

So, you say to clean your fermenting vessel to make sure there is no unhealthy bacteria. Do you clean it in between each batch? I was just going to ‘keep mine going’, but maybe it seems I shouldn’t? Thanks!

I keep it going between batches! If you’re just getting started you should give it a deep scrub but otherwise feel free to keep it going unless you notice your SCOBY growing black mold. Then it’s time to start over.